fantasy – Page 3 – Readcommendations

by Jenny Adams Perinovic

Reviewed by SA

This book made me mad for all the right reasons. Let me just start by saying that. Why? Because the ending is amazing. Really, incredibly, painfully amazing; and so is everything leading up to it. I was spellbound, from start to finish.

Summary

She meant to help a ghost…not unleash a curse.

Amelia Dupree hasn’t seen the Woman in White since the night her brother died. The ghost seems to have disappeared from the woods surrounding Asylum, Pennsylvania—that is, until Charlie Blue moves into the creepy old MacAllister House next door. Amelia can’t help liking him, even though she spent her childhood thinking his grandmother was a witch. And she definitely can’t ignore the connection between his arrival and the Woman in White’s return.

Then Amelia learns that the Woman in White is a prisoner, trapped between the worlds of the living and the dead. Devastated by the idea that her brother could be suffering a similar fate, Amelia decides to do whatever it takes to help the Woman in White find peace–and Charlie agrees to help her.

But when Amelia’s classmates start to drown in the Susquehanna River, one right after another, rumors swirl as people begin to connect the timing of Charlie’s arrival with the unexplained deaths. As Charlie and Amelia uncover the dark history of Asylum, they realize they may have unleashed an unspeakable evil. One they have to stop before everything they love is destroyed.

This is a trope breaking novel: as soon as I felt it turning towards the familiar, it changed its direction and gave me something new. Like with the character of Amelia, a young woman recovering from a very painful and traumatic event. She could easily have become obnoxious, but she instead went through incredible growth over the course of the novel. Or with her relationship with Charlie, which at some times seemed to take precedence over the plot, but then defied expectation by turning into something, well, different. And there I must stop, to avoid spoiling anything for you. Suffice to say, this is not your normal YA.

The plot is oddly paced: at times, it feels like not much is happening, while at others, it’s action after action. But it adds to the tone of the novel, where it feels as if the characters are allowed to return to a normality before being thrown back into horror. It also adds to the suspense, the mystery of it all, and its slow resolution, which is sure to raise anticipation, and leave you with a few questions… It all leads through amazing twists and a roller coaster of an ending, leaving you breathless, and craving for more.

From the first line – A woman haunted the woods behind my house. – you know you’re in for something amazing, all the way to the end… and hopefully beyond, because, after a cliffhanger like that, I am going to NEED a sequel!

A great and thrilling novel about life and death, about ghosts and magic, about the dangers of prejudice and jumping to conclusions, A Magic Dark and Bright is a must read for paranormal lovers everywhere. Beware – chills included. Comes out April 28th.

by Kelly Link

Reviewed by SA

There is something magical about short fiction; the stories, instead of being self contained, seem like just glimpses into other universes, short windows into another wold, transporting you, somehow capturing all of your self in just a few pages. And somehow, the stories linger, still in the back of you mind days, months after you have finished reading it. Get in Trouble may however be my favorite collection I have read to date, with the stories still vivid in my mind, unforgettable gems of fiction.

Get in Trouble is a collection of nine science fiction and fantasy stories that spans from superheroes to pyramids to robot boyfriends. In “The Summer People,” the first story, a young girl tries to care for a home of mysterious people (?) while sick. In “The New Boyfriend,” a friendship is tested when a teenager falls for her best friend’s robot boyfriend. There’s a man trying to reconnect with his former co-star/love interest, as she pursues Ghosts for a reality show; there’s both a superhero and a dentists’ convention in the same hotel; there’s teenagers hanging out in their own pyramids; ghosts stories on a spaceship; a woman with two shadows…

Each of the stories draws you in immediately. I would describe them as being set in the here and now, but shifted a few universes over. The rules of their world are the same, but not quite. By the time you’ve picked up one what those rules are, on where you are and what is happening, you are already entranced. You quickly fall in love with them, with the people you meet there: you want to know more. Many of the stories are quite short to read, and leave you wanting to know what happens next, forever imprinted on your mind. Switching from one story to another was a process, one which made me have to put down the book and revel on what I had just finished, before actually moving on.

While the style of the author is immediately recognizable, the stories show off her versatility. Different perspectives, different genres, one of the stories even a letter, Link manages to keep you reading not only with her remarkable plots, but also by the diversity of styles. Admittedly, some stories are better than others, but what is great about Get in Trouble is that there’s a little bit of something for everyone. Fans of Neil Gaiman will absolutely love her stories; I would honestly love to see what the two of them could write together.

If you’re looking for something you can read and know you will enjoy, pick up this book. It’s a great, fun read; one of those books that makes you feel that reading is magical, all over again.